Pensioner's exploding trash causes mayhem
A retired 73-year-old fireworks fancier accidentally caused a massive explosion on Wednesday afternoon when he dropped a bag of rubbish into a curb side container.
When the man from Majorca threw his trash into the bin, the bag exploded, sending the lid of the rubbish bin three stories into the air.
The blast also broke windows of surrounding residences and set off the airbags in one car, local daily Diario de Mallorca reported.
Police evacuated a nearby bar, blocked of the street of the explosion, and took the details of the man who had a bloody nose and a loss of hearing.
Two other people suffered hearing problems in the incident.
Initial investigations revealed the trash bag contained firework materials which chemically reacted with the metal trashcan.
Locals said this wasn't the first time the suspect had caused an explosion in this way.
One neighbor said the suspect used to be a fireworks specialist, and had caused an explosion in his store 10 years ago, nearly taking down the rest of the building.
Throughout the night on Wednesday, local police, national police, firefighters, public works, a bomb squad, and more forces worked on the scene to find out what substance caused the explosion.
Potassium chlorate, a potentially explosive material, appears to be a likely candidate.
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When the man from Majorca threw his trash into the bin, the bag exploded, sending the lid of the rubbish bin three stories into the air.
The blast also broke windows of surrounding residences and set off the airbags in one car, local daily Diario de Mallorca reported.
Police evacuated a nearby bar, blocked of the street of the explosion, and took the details of the man who had a bloody nose and a loss of hearing.
Two other people suffered hearing problems in the incident.
Initial investigations revealed the trash bag contained firework materials which chemically reacted with the metal trashcan.
Locals said this wasn't the first time the suspect had caused an explosion in this way.
One neighbor said the suspect used to be a fireworks specialist, and had caused an explosion in his store 10 years ago, nearly taking down the rest of the building.
Throughout the night on Wednesday, local police, national police, firefighters, public works, a bomb squad, and more forces worked on the scene to find out what substance caused the explosion.
Potassium chlorate, a potentially explosive material, appears to be a likely candidate.
Don't miss stories about Spain, join The Local on Facebook and Twitter.
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